


Would you like to nickname the caught Phantump?

by roseltheteacup, Shamza



Category: Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Blood and Injury, Brotherly Love, Depressing, Illustrations, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Multi, PhantHop, Timeskip
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-28
Updated: 2020-09-17
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:33:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 18,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21593872
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roseltheteacup/pseuds/roseltheteacup, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shamza/pseuds/Shamza
Summary: Another ‘Champion day’, or... perhaps more of a ‘Normal Man day’ for Leon, and another crisis to resolve. Folks in Wedgehurst don't always do so famously with Ghost type Pokémon, superstitions about them tend to run high when the most exciting Pokémon you’ve got around is sweet, fluffy, and shaped like a friend. So when a particular Ghost Pokémon shows up at the edge of town, who else better to deal with it than the ExPokémon Champion himself? “Sure!” he had told the townsfolk, fully believing that he could handle whatever the little fellow might come to throw at him. Oh, had he never been so wrong.
Relationships: Dande | Leon & Hop, Dande | Leon & Kibana | Raihan, Kibana | Raihan/Nezu | Piers
Comments: 69
Kudos: 944





	1. A Champion Encounter

**** ****

When Leon thinks about it, it sounds right ridiculous to him what some people will believe. The saying that Phantump is a cursed Pokémon, so much so that people hesitate to capture them... the very theory that people could _ever_ become Pokémon is impossible, right? Leon was pretty certain... yet he turned the argument over and over in his head as he watched his own little wee thing of a Phantump from behind the short stone walls of Wedgehurst. 

The Phantump made another ghostly cry. To Leon, it sounded rather frightened or perhaps lost, and his heart ached for it. It had been loitering about the edge of the forest for near a half hour now and Leon was considering catching it. Not only did it seem lonely, but it looked... different from any other Phantump he'd seen. 

According to some, Phantump can look off if the original spirit of the Pokémon, that spirit being _human_ , had possessed a strong soul, however, Leon absolutely _refused_ to buy it. Some Pokémon looked different from the norm, it happened. Still though, under normal conditions Leon would have jumped out and caught the poor thing ages ago, yet something... something was off about it, what was it? Slowly, the little Phantump turned back towards the forest and started to drift away from Leon's sight. Leon bolted up and, to his own surprise, rushed out into the clearing! The Phantump turned and faced him, giving a cry. It was clearly startled, but instead of flying away it looked at him with sudden interest. 

Now that Leon was closer, he saw that it really did seem different from most. It's leaves were a deep purple instead of a crisp green, and it's eyes were bright hazel. In it's short and nubby arms, it struggled to hold onto an old and rusted sword, still managing to hold onto it, but only just.

With the Pokémon simply gazing at Leon, guard down and non hostile, he felt that he just had to catch it, now. After all, what kind of Pokémon trainer/Ex-Champion would he be if he passed up a champion catch like this; this lost and frightened thing, a Pokémon like no other? From his belt he pulled out an empty pokéball. The Phantump seemed weak enough to Leon that he might not even need to fight it in order to capture it and for some reason... he didn't really want to fight it, anyway.

"Alright little guy, here we go." Leon told it calmly, "My name's Leon, and I just wanna help you out, OK? You're spooking some of the folks around here, but don't worry, I'm not scared of you. In fact, how about we be friends?"

The little Phantump hesitated, but then gave a sad sounding moan. For some reason, it struck Leon deep. Now he was starting to understand why people didn't catch these. But... he couldn't just leave it. Staring into its eyes, something about it seemed to need him. Or... was it the other way around? Leon attempted to shake the thoughts out of his head. "Don't be daft, Leon. Just catch the thing already, it's getting late." he muttered to himself.

Leon gripped the pokéball in his right hand and covered both with his left. He twisted his back and stretched his arms over his head. Leg bent and at the ready, Leon gave the little guy a quick once over. He'd say about… twenty feet, so a low arching throw, hard flick of the wrist, and that should about do it. Leon then threw the ball, hard and let it fly low but fast. It was a great throw really, just as he had expected it. The odd little Phantump, which had been watching him closely, cried out cheerfully at the sight. As the ball came level with it, it attempted to catch the pokeball with one of its stubby little arms, but was sucked into the thing once it made contact. The ball fell to the ground and Leon watched it do so. Suddenly, unexpectedly, and horrible dread was creeping up into Leon's throat.

'It's face... it was so happy.' Leon thought,

The ball whirred. 

'It's eyes had lit up. Almost... almost like it had seen it a hundred times before' 

The ball whirred a few times more, but was starting to slow.

'Maybe... maybe it had...'

The pokéball sealed and Leon walked over to it, falling to his knees. He grasped the ball in both hands and seeing a familiar face in his mind, felt tears begin to roll down his face. He clutched the ball to his chest, knowing that if anyone were to see him now, they might think that he looked demented.

* * *

_One day later..._

Leon's little brother was missing, no one had seen him since Leon had lost in the final battle of the Championship Cup. To people's credit, it was bit of a chaotic time, no one had paid the boy much mind until people started asking, 'Hey, what's Hop been up to?'. Once the realisation that no one had seen Hop for a few weeks came around, several Gym Leaders organised parties all over the region, going out during the days and nights to search for the boy. Leon, though distraught at the time, tried to stay confident that they would find his little brother somewhere, he tried to stay hopeful that Hop would return to him, safe and sound.

That was 5 years ago. 

Today, he's on a CorviCab bound for Stow-on-side of all places and in his hand, he held a potentially startling reality. No matter how many times he told himself that it was just _not possible_ , _it's_ face resurfaces in his mind, like a reflection in the water: distorted, yet still shockingly similar. He needed to know, he needed to know _for sure._

Stow-on-side was a rough and tumble kind of town. It's bright and dusty and not exactly the kind of place that Leon prefers to be, but it was the only place that he could think of that had the answers. Despite the heat, Leon donned a thick hoodie jacket, and bought the first pair of sunglasses he saw at the Pokémart, since for the first time in a long time, he was trying to _not_ be noticed today. He looked himself over on the rotem phone and after feeling satisfied, left the Pokémon center and started to make his way from the edge of town to the center, where the Stow-on-side gym was. Passing shops and children at play, he started to get looks from some of the passersby, some of whom eyed him with looks of caution while others seemed amused by his get up. Leon felt his face heat up, perhaps he was drawing more attention to himself _with_ his disguise than he would have without it and _that_ was certainly saying something. Attempting to avoid eye contact, he kept one hand firm around the pokéball in his pocket. 

'Remember why you're here.' Leon told himself.

The inside of the gym was at first sweet relief but quickly Leon realized that perhaps it was a little _too_ cold in the lobby as the intense air conditioning sent shivers down his spine. Maybe it was apart if Allister's schtick as a Ghost type Gym Leader, or maybe he just liked the gym cold.

Leon's never actually been inside the Stow-on-Side gym as the gym it is now. Ten years ago, back when he had taken the Gym Challenge, it was still a Fighting type gym lead by a young Gym Leader named Bea. Bea had made a very big impact on Leon back when he had faced her. She was strong and very disciplined in her techniques as a martial artist, while also managing to be a skilled battler. Some folks claimed that she was an emotionless person when really, Leon thought that she was just acting like a dependable leader.

When it came to Alistair, however, Leon had only had the pleasure of meeting him a few times and he couldn’t say that he had a great understanding of the boy. Whenever Leon had tried to talk to the him in the past, Allister never seemed able to look at him directly, much less carry a conversation with him. Raihan once told Leon that he was too intimidating in his introductions, to which Leon replied, ‘ _Everyone_ should be able to enjoy the pizzazz of the Champion pose.’

"...Mr. Leon?" Mumbled a voice from behind.

Leon didn't turn, and instead attempted to save face for his ridiculous appearance by posing spectacularly.

"How did you know it was me?" Leon asked, eyes closed and smile plastered on.

"I, uh… took a wild guess." Said the voice. Leon turned and saw that it was an elderly gym trainer, looking at him rather indifferently. Leon coughed awkwardly. 

"I'm looking for Allister, is he here today?" Leon said.

"I'm 'fraid not, sir." said the man, "I believe he's taking a walk in the Glimwood Tangle right now. He tends to go there quite often, and he might not be back for a while. Is there something you need?"

"I needed to ask him about… a certain ghost Pokémon I've acquired recently. It's actually pretty urgent."

"I see, well if you have questions about ghost Pokémon, I'm sure me and my fellow gym trainers would be able to help you, we're all experts." said the man, gesturing around the interior of the lounge.

"Ah, I appreciate the offer! However… I feel that I must see Allister about it. It's a very particular Pokémon.” Leon explained. The man's eyebrows rose slightly, to which Leon pretended not to notice, “You said that he's in the Glimwood Tangle, right? Which direction would I need to go to find that?"

The old man hesitated, "... Glimwood is a very large forest. It's very dark, with all manners of twists and turns and I've heard that you get lost very easily, Mr. Leon. No offense, but I implore you to simply seek our help…"

Leon placed his hands on his hips and smiled confidently, "Thank you, but with my trusty Charizard by my side, I'll be fine! Which way to the Glimwood Tangle?"

"...To the right of the gym, sir…" said man the begrudgingly.


	2. The Glimwood Tangle

**** So, perhaps Leon had exaggerated a bit when he'd said that he was going to be fine in the Glimwood Tangle. He had started to suspect this when he ran into the very large, and very oddly coloured mushroom for about the fifth time now, under which sat a little collection of Imidimp that chortled at him everytime he stumbled into the clearing. His wonderful Charizard, who was normally his saving grace in situations like this, seemed to be of little use here. The foliage above them was so thick that Charizard could hardly fly anywhere to gain a bird's eye view. However, with the forest being so dark, Leon wasn't sure if that would have been of much help anyway. The cramped space was also doing his large Pokémon no favors. Eventually, Leon had to return Charizard to his pokeball after he got caught in yet _another_ cluster of vines. 

**** "Thanks anyway, buddy." Leon had told him.

 **** The frustrating wandering and depressing seclusion of the forest started to bring Leon's mind towards all the questions that he'd been trying desperately to avoid so far. Like, for example, _What was he even going to ask Allister when he found him?_

**** "Heya Allister, I know we barely know each other, but I found this Ghost Pokémon that I think might be my missing little brother just because it kinda reminds me of him so, I might be going insane, but please tell me that I'm wrong?" No. 

**** Ghost Gym Leader or not, Leon had no doubt in his mind that Allister was going to think him absolutely bonkers and Leon wasn't going to blame him, he was starting to think that he was going a bit crazy himself. After all, he hadn't even let the Phantump out of its ball since he'd captured it; instead, he had spent the sleepless night demanding to be left alone in his room, much to his family's concern, while staring at the ball and feeling like he was going to have a complete breakdown. In the end, Leon was basing this whole endeavor on some similar colors, an enthusiastic reaction, a lack of sleep, and a controversial belief. Now, he's in the middle of nowhere looking for a clairvoyant middle schooler. The more Leon thought about it, the more irritated he started to feel with himself. He knows that sometimes he can be a little much, but this… this was ridiculous. He was an adult, he should be trying to deal with this himself.

 **** Leon took out the Phantump's pokéball, and his hand clenched around it. He was too afraid to let it out last night, too afraid that it was going to remind him of Hop again. He had to be going crazy. _"It's not Hop, it's not Hop."_ Leon told himself, _"Let it out, and you'll see."_

 **** Leon tossed the ball, and out came the Phantump, though facing away from him. 

**** It seemed rather confused, looking about at its surroundings and making little bemused noises, which was understandable; first time in a pokéball and all. Leon put his hands in his pockets, forced on a soft smile, and said, "Phantump.".

 **** It turned.

  
  


**** Leon suppressed an urge to vomit.

 _"It's the eyes, it's definitely the eyes."_ Leon thought. 

**** And he was right, the Phantump's eyes were very much like Hop's, in fact the color was almost exactly the same. It’s eyes were also very big, and the way that it was staring at Leon made him feel like the Phantump was trying to bore little holes into him. The vines on its head were still dark purple, just like Hop's hair, and the more Leon looked at him, the more he started to feel dread weigh into his heart, thoughts were ringing loudly in his head saying: What if it's true? What if it really is him? And suddenly Leon was _certain_ that he was going to _throw up and-_

 **** Leon squeezed his eyes shut, the Phantump tilted its head curiously at him.

 _"You need to stop panicking,"_ Leon told himself, _“this isn’t like you. Get it together.”_ Leon took in a slightly trembling, but _deep_ breath, and exhaled slowly. _"Calm down, and look again."_

 **** Leon opened up his eyes, the Phantump had moved a little closer. It seemed very curious about Leon.

 **** And well… there were definitely _differences_ … for example, the eyes, though very similar to Hop’s, were a bit… simpler. Hop's eyes had had several shades of hazel that this Phantump _didn't_ have, and the deep purple vines up top of its head weren't _hair_ exactly, they were leaves. So, the Phamtump had a bunch purple leaves on its head, so what? It’s not hair, even if they seemed reminiscent of hair. _“That’s right,”_ thought Leon confidently, “ _So it's got hazel eyes, so what? Some color coordination didn’t mean anything, in the grand scheme of it.”_

 **** Leon knelt down to meet its face. “Hello, little Phantump.” He told it kindly, trying hard to keep his smile.

 **** The little Phantump’s face lit up, and it smiled a bright smile at Leon, “Phan!” It cried.

 **** Leon's heart lifted a small bit at its cheer. If anything, at least it seemed to be a lot happier now, with Leon, than back when it was alone before, but now came the hard part.

 **** "Little guy… do I seem familiar to you?" Leon asked tentatively.

 **** The little Phantump looked at him questioningly, and then smiled again, "Phan!" it replied… but Leon wasn't sure if that was really an answer. The Phantump then noticed a glowing spore floating by and proceeded to follow it with its eyes.

 **** "Phantump? Do you know what I'm saying? Phantump?" But the Phantump was no longer listening. Instead, it was foregoing his questions to absent-mindedly follow another floating spore a few feet away from the previous one. It gave another cry to let Leon know that it'd heard him, but still insisted on following the spore. 

**** This was not going as Leon had hoped it would. He had _at least_ been banking on the possibility that it was going to somewhat understand him. Now, with no way to communicate with it, how could he ever verify if it was Hop?

 **** Leon's mouth went dry, there was one thing he could try… but he really didn't want to do it.

 **** Leon watched the little Phantump follow the lights around.

 **** "Hop." Leon said shakily

 **** The Phantump didn't respond.

 _"Hop."_ Leon said again, a little louder.

 **** Still nothing.

 **** He released a breath that he didn't know he had been holding. Well then, that was it wasn't it? It had to be. After all, if the Phantump really _was_ Hop, Leon would have at least expected him to react to his own name. 

_Perhaps it really is just any ol' Phantump._ Leon thought. 

**** For some reason, however, the thought suddenly made Leon feel very sad. _But why?_ He wondered. And then, Leon realized, and felt much like he wanted to kick himself. Perhaps he _had_ been hoping that the Phantump was Hop, just a little bit. He had been searching for Hop for so long and the thought of finally finding him, even in a situation such as this one, might have made Leon feel just a little less lost. He had felt aimless without Hop, and for so long now. Losing him had felt like a wake up call at the time. 

**** Really… he just wanted to see him again. 

**** Leon shook his head and hit the sides of his face with his hands, bringing himself back into the forest. This really wasn't the time or place for this. Leon had his answer and hadn't needed Allister, so it should be fine for them to just go home now.

 **** Leon stood up and looked around, expecting to see the Phantump somewhere in the clearing but… it was gone.

 **** "Phantump?" Leon called loudly.

 **** "Phan!" called the Phantump.

 **** Leon rounded a nearby tree to find the Phantump happily swirling around and around amongst a large cluster of floating spores that glowed rather brilliantly, rusted sword nearly slipping from it's poor grip. "Phan!" It cried happily. Leon felt a small smile start tugging on his lips again.

 **** "Having fun over there, little guy?" Leon asked. The Phantump twirled again, smiling, "We have to go now though, so enough playing, come along now."

 **** Phantump started gliding back over to Leon, when a sudden rustling in the bushes startled them both. A pair of glowing white eyes appeared and stared at them from the bush. Then, another pair appeared, as well as another and another and another, until Leon realised what was happening and pulled out his Charizard's pokéball. A large group of Impidimp leapt out from the darkness into the clearing, and Leon recognized them as the same group from the large and oddly coloured mushroom from before. Leon threw out his pokéball and his trusty Charizard burst out with a booming roar. Large and intimidating, a few of the Impidimp seemed startled by it, however, it did not seem like Charizard or even Leon were the intended targets today. A majority of the Impidimp rounded on Phantump instead, taking Leon off guard until he realized that Phantump were native to this forest, and that the Impidimp group had probably thought that it had trespassed onto their territory.

 **** "Charizard, stop them!" Leon commanded, but before Charizard could get in-between his Pokémon and the group, one of the Impidimp aimed a powerful swipe at Phantump, to which Phantump dodged, but called out in fear and alarm.

 **** "Phaaan!!" It cried. 

**** Gliding opposite of the group, it flew out of the clearing and into the bushes and trees, it fled into the dense thicket of the forest.

 **** "No, H-! Phantump! Stay here!" Leon shouted, but the rustling of the startled Pokémon had already faded.

* * *

 **** Fending off the wild group of Impidimp had taken much longer than Leon had anticipated. Sure his Charizard was stronger than them all, but there were just so many and they were all so fast, that it took quite a few attacks to finally convince them to leave the pair alone.

 **** Once they were gone, Leon looked about frantically for any sign of Phantump, to which there were none. Leon couldn't believe it. Just when things had started looking a little bit better, the thing just goes and clears off. As he paced around the clearing, trying to figure which direction it had gone, Leon's foot collided with something, he looked down, it was the rusty sword that the Phantump had carried around.

 _"Must have dropped it."_ Leon surmised. Then, he had a brilliant idea.

 **** "Charizard!" Leon called, Charizard stopped his own searching and looked at Leon. "You've got a great big snout, yeah? Can you track Phantump's scent?"

 **** Charizard seemed somewhat affronted at this request, but sniffed the rusty sword anyway, sensing Leon's rising anxiety. It sniffed the air for signs of scent, and then started to sniff at the surrounding bushes. Leon tried his best to be patient, but started tapping his foot after a few minutes had passed and Charizard was still sniffing. He kept imagining horrible things happening to Phantump, and it filled him with terrible feelings of guilt.

Charizard then roared loudly, and thundered off into the trees.

"Great job, buddy!" Leon yelled, trailing him from behind. 

As they went on in their pursuit, they stopped occasionally for Charizard to regain the scent, and then were off again. After a bit, the stops became less frequent, which Leon took as a sign that they were getting close. Leon's worry grew as he batted away the branches and vines, but stayed focused on the search.

 _"We're going to find him, we're going to find him no matter what."_ Leon assured himself.

Charizard roared again, and Leon saw that they were coming up on a glade. Flying faster and faster, Charizard stormed into the space, with Leon coming in quick behind him. Phantump was in the clearing, yet to react to them, but it was not alone. In front of it was a large and fierce looking Gengar and also… Allister? Charizard roared at the Gengar, which yelled back at him. Charizard's roar tampered off however after spotting Allister, and he backed up suddenly and somewhat awkwardly, nearly knocking over Leon with it's large and flaming behind. The Phantump turned and, seeing Charizard, hid behind Gengar. It was joined quickly by Allister himself, who had given a high pitched, "Aieeee!!" at the commotion.

"Woah, woah! Ok! Let's all just _calm down for a second_!" Leon shouted over the chaos, stepping in-between his Charizard and the advancing Gengar with his hands raised.

"Cha-Cha- Champion?! Er- I mean- Mr. Leon?!" Allister stammered, rising from behind Gengar. His frightened demeanor changed suddenly and, to Leon's surprise, Allister's hands balled furiously as he addressed Leon, "What on earth are you doing?!"

"I'm really sorry about that, Allister!" said Leon quickly, "It's just that Phantump, it's mine, and I thought it might be in trouble…"

"...Seems 'right to me…" mumbled Allister irritability, but then he sighed and gave his Gengar a reassuring pat. "Please… Mr. Leon… Do not go running about the wood so disastrously. Pokémon here are quite sensitive…" Allister said. He sounded very self-assured in saying this, but his confidence started tapering off as he continued, and he started mumbling again.

"Truly, I'm very sorry Allister. That Phantump there, you found it and were taking care of it, yes? I'm very grateful." Leon said.

Allister stopped mumbling and turned to Phantump, who had now noticed Leon and was floating joyously over to him. "Oh why… yes." said Allister, "The poor thing came up to me in such a frightful state. It said that it was looking for someone, seems that person must of been you… strange..." Leon patted Phantump's head, and then looked up at Allister with an amazed look on his face.

"You mean, you really _can_ talk to ghost Pokémon? Genuinely?" Leon asked.

"Yes… I can…" Allister said carefully, "but some are easier to understand than others. Your Phantump… for example… is much like a child, making it rather difficult to understand. Other than the searching part, I couldn't get much else out of it." He explained. Leon's mouth went dry. Yes, he'd already noticed that his Phantump was rather simple minded. "Curious thing… that Phantump," Allister continued, seemingly mystified, "I've never seen one of that color before… It's very pretty..."

"Yes well…" Leon began, "Actually Allister, I came in the forest today looking to ask you about this Phantump. I've never had one before and well… well I was wondering if you could answer something for me… but given what you've already said, I think I may already know the answer." Leon said cautiously. He was going to try and do this without mentioning Hop.

"...A question?" Allister inquired.

"Yes… is there anyway you could be able to tell me who this Phantump may have been back when it was human?" Leon asked. Allister's mask concealed his face, but his head jerked back at the question, so he was clearly surprised, but Leon pressed on.

"It's just that… people are sometimes cautious about these… Pokémon that may have been people once and admittedly, I am too. If I just knew a bit more about who it may have been, say, a name? Then I'd feel like I've done it a good service, as it's friend." _Yes, that's good,_ Leon thought. After all, it wasn't a lie exactly, he was just omitting a few unimportant details.

"Mmmm…" Hummed Allister, head down, he raised a hand up to his mask and scratched at it. "You know this isn't the first time I've been asked something like this, but of all people, I surely didn't expect the question from you, Leon… so let's see…" he raised his head again. "I suppose that this is a good time to admit… that I've already asked your Phantump for it's name when it ran into me… and that it wasn't able to give me one. I… often make a habit of asking Pokémon that are rumored to of once been human certain questions about their pasts, but they've never been able to answer me. It seems that, whatever lives they might have once lived, are forgotten once they cross into this one." Allister explained. Leon's spirits dropped. 

So much for being certain.

"Ahh… I see." Leon said, trying not to let his disappointment show. "Well… perhaps that's a good thing, yeah? Better for them, perhaps."

"Perhaps…" Allister responded, and after a slightly awkward pause, continued. "I'm sorry that I couldn't be of much help, is there somethin' else I could help you with? You'll need help getting back out of the forest, yes?" he asked.

Leon definitely wasn't going to argue that. Not only is his abysmal sense of direction a simple fact, they had spent hours in Glimwood now, and Leon was tired and hungry. He wasn't sure whether he could handle seeing another mushroom for a couple of weeks, at most.

"I'd greatly appreciate that Allister, thank you. And again, sorry for the ruckus we've caused." Leon said. He turned to the Phantump. "Thank Allister now for helping you, little guy. You caused a lot of trouble by running off, you know. Go on." The Phantump didn't seem to fully understand Leon, but Allister waved at it, to which the Phantump smiled and waved its own stubby little hand back at him. Leon returned the rusted sword to it, which it seemed overjoyed for, and then returned Phantump and Charizard back into their pokéballs.

"Gengar can lead you back, he knows the way…" Allister told him.

"Thanks Allister, I really owe you something for this!"

"Ah… it's nothing…" Allister said sheepishly.

As Leon made his way to go with Allister's Gengar, Allister made an uncertain sound and mumbled. "Ummm… L...Leon…?"

"Hmm? Yes?" Leon asked, turning.

"Well… it's just... I was surprised to find out that _you_ were that Phantump's trainer Leon… when I spoke to it before, and it mentioned that it was looking for someone…? It mentioned a different name, not yours… so… I was just wondering… do you know if it's had any other trainers before?"

Leon's brows furrowed, "Not as far as I'm aware, no. I was pretty certain that it was full on wild." Leon said, but then he crossed his arms and considered it a bit more, "Although, Phantump aren't exactly native to the Slumbering Weald…" he said thoughtfully, and then uncrossed his arms and considered Allister, "What name did it say? Who was it looking for?"

"Apparently…" Allister said uncertainly, "it was just someone called 'Lee'."

_Lee…_

_Lee…?_

_No… no, that can't be right…_

A powerful ringing started in Leon's ears. His face was turning a sickly pale, and his legs became weak. Allister seemed to have noticed this and was trying, frantically, to ask him if he was alright. Leon opened his mouth to reassure him that, yes. Yes, of course everything was fine, but... no sound came out.

_Lee… it… he had called me Lee…_

The ringing persisted. It grew even louder after Leon's legs gave out, the world started to go darker, and darker, and darker still, and Allister's panicked voice faded as the ringing became unbearably loud and then… then…

Then there was nothing at all.


	3. The First Evening

As Leon came to, he started to hear distant voices, drifting in and out. When the fog cleared, he recognized that they were whispering urgently to one another and was able to catch various words from the conversation like "Exhausted" and "Stressed". He eventually recognized Allister's mumbling voice, as well as an old and quivering one that he thought might be Opal's. Something rather small shifted against Leon, pressing and poking into his side.

When he finally managed to pry his eyes open and turn his head, he looked over to see the Phantump, snuggled close and fast asleep under the blankets. Somehow, even in its dreams, it still managed to wear a worried expression. Leon ran his hand over its leafy wooden head.

 _Over_ **_his_ ** _head._ Leon thought grimly. His stomach gave a hard lurch as the events that had led to all this played out in his mind, he swallowed. He didn't want to think about it just yet. Phantump stirred slightly, but then settled down again and continued sleeping. Leon peered around the dark room. They were both lying in a twin sized bed with moonlight streaming in from a window beside them.

As Leon's eyes adjusted to the darkness, he saw that there were four other beds situated neatly along the wall and made together with white sheets and pillows. They seemed to be in some form of a hospital, and Leon felt that he recognized the room, but couldn't remember from where. Adjacent from the beds was a door that was slightly ajar, and he could still hear voices immersed in conversation behind it. Leon attempted to rise, and groaned at a throbbing ache in this temple. The voices stopped suddenly and the door creaked open. Allister, Opal, and the old gym trainer with whom Leon had talked to earlier that day, all walked in.

"So, you're awake Ex-champion." Said Opal, in her somewhat shrill and high voice. She raised one hand gracefully as she addressed him. "You gave Allister a real fright, you know. He ran out of the forest in a panic, his Dusknor carrying you. I'd been in town to do a spot of shopping when you had arrived, and I'd thought that the two of you had been attacked by some fearsome creature!" Opal said dramatically.

"You were taken here, to the gym, since there's a medical room," said the elderly gym trainer, "but if you feel that you need a hospital-"

"No no, I'm fine! Just… got dizzy was all." Said Leon. Now he remembered why the room looked familiar to him, when back during his own gym challenge he had needed to visit it when Bea had kicked him hard in the mouth.

"What were you doing alone in the forest anyway?" Asked Opal. Leon made to look at Allister, but stopped himself. How much had he told them?

"I..." Leon began, but then he hesitated. Leon wasn't sure on just how much he was willing to reveal about the situation, if anything at all. He needed time to think, time to consider what he was going to do about… all _this_ , before telling anyone about it. And as much as Leon despised lying… _his_ presence next to him, fast asleep and unaware, made Leon feel more resolute in this, at least.

"Are you ill, young man?" Opal asked him, "I think that perhaps you _should_ see a doctor." she said. Opal's brows were furrowing and she seemed to be fairly concerned, which was surprising to Leon. Her voice however, simply in nature, cut through the previously quiet room like a hot knife, and Phantump started up again. Leon had the sudden urge to ask her to be a little quieter.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Leon said quickly, "I was just… tired is all. I was in the forest trying to learn more about Ghost types, and I was in there for hours. It took a bigger toll on me than I thought it was going to, and I didn't sleep too well last night, either." _At least that last part is true_ , Leon thought. The gym trainer that he had talked to earlier that day wore a critical expression, while Opal's look made Leon think that she wasn't entirely convinced. Allister however, remained silent.

"I'm fine, honestly." Leon said firmly.

Opal's eyebrows raised slightly and the trainer shook his head disapprovingly.

"...Alright then." Said Allister, causing everyone to turn towards him. "We can't exactly keep you if you say to be fine but… when you get home today, please… get plenty of rest, Leon." He requested, very quietly actually, requiring Leon to lean in to hear him better. "We'll also call a CorviCab for you."

Leon nodded courteously to this. "Thank you, Allister."

Another gym trainer, this one in a fairy gym uniform, appeared at the doorway. Opal walked over to speak to them as Allister beckoned to his own trainer and seemed to mumble some instructions to him. Leon made to collect his hoodie hung up on the bedpost, when the Pokémon beside him gave a ghostly groan, and Leon turned to him.

The Phantump rose up, blankets catching in his wooden horns, and he looked around casting bleary and irritated looks at those in the room whom had disturbed him. He then looked up to see Leon, who elicited a much more positive reaction from the Phantump in the form of an energetic tackle to the stomach.

"Phan-Phantump!" He cried. He nuzzled hard into Leon's shirt, horns poking into him, and Leon started to feel a dreadful burning in his throat that climbed higher and higher as he continued to look down at the small creature. 

_Not here, not now!_ Leon thought desperately to himself. 

Leon then pushed the Phantump away as gently as possible, but the creature looked up at Leon with dejected expression that made Leon feel almost shameful. Yet he returned Phantump to his pokéball without another word, and then coughed and stood up, not looking directly at anyone else in the room. Leon noticed that Allister had his mask turned slightly towards him however, and though the boy looked away and continued his conversation with the trainer with no comment, Leon had a sinking feeling that he had been watching very closely.

"Did you at least get the answers you needed, sir?" Asked the gym trainer suddenly, turning from Allister to Leon and looking oddly suspicious.

"Oh, uh. Yes, yes I did." Leon replied. And that, at least, was very true.

Later that night, Leon disembarked from the CorviCab, gave the Pokémon and it's helper a curt nod, and then watched the cab fly off into the night. He had been taken to his apartment, atop which sat his penthouse, the highest in Wyndon. Most people seeing Leon in the lobby however, might not have thought that he was coming home to such luxury as he stalked inside with his head low and his hands deep in his pockets. His hair was a matted disaster with the odd twig sticking out from it's tangles, and his jeans and hoodie were torn in places. The lobby's receptionist, a stern but generally friendly woman, raised an eyebrow at his disheveled appearance but seemed to decide from his stiff pace that he was best left alone.

The inside of his apartment was as dark and as quiet as when he'd left it a few days before. The hallway, being the only source of light, casted his shadow ominously onto the expansive living room floor. He didn't turn on the lights, feeling too morose for it, and instead went to the bathroom to take a long and hot shower. Afterwards, he sat at the edge of his couch attempting to brush out his hair and still finding bits of nature in it. He sighed, feeling that the effort was futile, and dropped the brush to the floor and put his face in his hands. Allister's words began echoing endlessly in his mind. 

_"It was just someone called 'Lee'."_

He turned his head and looked through his fingers at the coffee table, on which sat the Phantump's pokéball.

He kept trying to think of alternative possibilities.

_Maybe, Lee was it's real name or… or the previous trainer that had caught him last was called Lee or-_

**_Or maybe Hop's dead._ ** Imposed a horrible, ruthless voice in the back of his head.

Leon pressed the palms of his hands into his eyes, and stars sprang up into his vision, _"Shut up! Shut up!"_ he whispered furiously. Tears were threatening to surface, but the voice persisted, growing louder and louder with each word.

 ** _It's Hop, and you know it's Hop._** It insisted, **_He's the only one in the world who called you Lee, the only one who would remember you, even after death. After all, he was your ‘Number One Fan’, wasn’t he?_** Asked the voice. Leon felt his eyes brimming with tears, he wiped at them furiously but they still managed to spill over, leaving cold trails in their wake.

He couldn’t banish the hissing voice. It continued to berate him for hours and hours, during which he looked out the window, seeing the dazzling and flashing lights from the pristine city below, but not really taking in any of it. After some time, he turned away from it, grabbed his pokéball, and tossed it listlessly. 

When it released, Leon heard the now empty pokéball drop to the carpet with a muffled thud. Leon kept his eyes closed and his head down, feeling unable to raise himself, and after a few moments silence, _he_ made the first noise. 

“...Phan?” he murmured.

Leon didn't respond.

"Ph… Phantump?" He called quietly, anxiously, but Leon still remained silent.

Leon didn't know what to say or do. It seemed to be that, above all, and it made him feel relentless guilt to admit it to himself, he just didn't want to look at him yet.

However, when Leon felt the presence of a small and stubby hand on his arm, Leon raised his head slowly to look evenly at the Phantump. 

The pair of eyes before him were eyes much like his own. They were eyes that, at one point, had shone brilliantly with a compelling fire so intense that it turned the head and inspired the heart. Thinking of this, Leon realized as to why he hadn't fully recognized them before, back when they were in Glimwood. 

Leon saw now that there was no longer fire in his eyes. Gone seemed to be the days of his declarations of triumph, gone seemed to be the days of his fleeting figure, and it was replaced instead by a simple and mild confusion. There was just one thing left that Leon saw for sure. He could see it now, because it was something that Leon had seen time and time again. 

In the Phantump's face still remained a look of unbridled love and concern.

 _'It was just someone called 'Lee'.'_ Echoed Allister's voice.

 _Why?_ Leon thought desperately, but the thought escaped his lips, transferring into a hoarse whisper.

"Phan?" The Phantump chirped, perking up, but Leon looked down to the floor again.

One thing that Leon had been expecting for a long time, ever since he had become Champion, was that Hop would come to hate him one day. Busy and distant, Leon had grown apart from his family over the years. So, the first time Leon heard Hop going on and on about becoming Champion, Leon had thought then, _'So, this is it.'._

He had feared that Hop motives were slightly vindictive, if nothing else. Leon's mere presence as Champion caused favoritism the the family and he knew that. He was more sure that, to a degree, Hop had to of also noticed, and so had come to hate him for it. 

However, the biggest thing that bothered Leon about the whole thing wasn't that possibility, but simply that he didn't know how it could ever be fixed. He had spent so much time away from Hop that Leon didn't feel like he deserved to act brotherly anymore, and it became the one thing that he couldn't feel confident in. If it turned out to be true that Hop resented him then… Leon didn't really know what he'd do.

The Phantump made a quizzical noise and moved closer, both hands on his arm now.

 _So why?_ Leon thought desperately.

_Why are you looking at me like that?_

_How are you so worried about me?_

Leon thought back to when he'd caught him, and the look of excitement Leon had seen on his face. 

_How can you still look up to me, remember me, even after everything?_

"Hop I'm… I'm sorry, I…" Leon began, still facing the floor. "I didn't think that… that you had… needed me… as much as you might of…" He tried to say more, but his voice was quivering and trailing off. Leon wanted to ask so many questions, he had so many things that felt needed to be said or done, but the Phantump wasn't saying anything, or doing anything, and Leon imagined a look of confusion on its face.

Why had he even brought him out? Leon wondered, it wasn't as if it… it wasn't as if he…

"Hop… can you even understand me?" Leon questioned hesitantly. And with great effort, he looked up again into the Phantump's face.

Hop was crying.

Leon's stomach seemed to flip upside down. He raised both of his hands in panic, but he didn't dare to touch him. "Hop?! No, I'm… don't cry, please..." Leon pleated, but Hop started audibly sobbing now. Leon tried to calm his own voice into a more soothing tone, speaking with what he hoped to be reassuring statements like: "It's OK!” And, “I'm sorry, but I’m fine, see?”, but nothing seemed to cease his brothers onslaught of tears. 

Each sob tore into Leon’s heart like sabers, and Leon realized that the voice sobbing was the same as it had been five years ago, just slightly distorted now. The revelation made Leon’s blood feel like it was running cold. Everything about Hop was causing pain to course though Leon, despite him having once been someone who had brought Leon so much happiness, even when their relationship had parted slightly. Now, Leon feared that the two of them might never be able to find happiness again together. 

“Don't cry…" he whispered, beginning to losing all sense of composure. And then, without thinking, Leon reached his arms out and pulled Hop close into a powerful hug. Leon squeezed him tightly to his chest, desperation was evident in the way that his body seemed to fold in on itself, and he cradled Hop like he’d never let him go again. His brother immediately silenced, though his eyes were wide in shock and Leon's throat was burning from the urge to cry.

Leon took a deep breath, and his embrace relinquished just a little bit. Staring out into the darkness of the room, he thought about the small creature he was holding.

This… this was just how things had to be now. This small creature was really no 'creature' at all, but his little _brother_. And though his presence was bringing him much pain, Leon remembered back to what he’d considered in the Slumbering Weald; that finding Hop like this was better than having never found him at all, and discovered that the feeling was still true in his chest, constricted though it made him feel. 

“Hop.” Leon said intently, and his brother stirred. Leon loosened his grip, and Hop looked up at him. Tears were no longer streaming down his face, but he hiccuped sensitively, and still looked miserable. It wasn't right, Leon thought.

"Hop," he said, "I can't repair… what's happened to you. No… what's happened to us. There's no going back now, but… I believe we can still go on, like this." Leon said, and he drew closer, "There's some things I need to do, lost time that I… that I need to make up for. We can't be as we were… I've accepted that, but even if we're different now, I'm still your big brother. And I'm going to do anything and everything to make this right again."

Leon paused, Hop seemed to be listening seriously, but then a thought occurred to Leon that Hop _had_ to understand. "But… if this is going to work, this will have to stay between us. I'll be responsible for that, but I have to ask you to trust me, to stay by my side, OK Hop?"

Hop did not immediately answer. With a look of now odd inspiration, Hop nodded slowly with his eyes fixed on Leon. Leon decided that it was best to assume that Hop didn't really understand, but had perhaps caught onto the sentiment, or at least, he had hoped so. 

Hop's attention drew to his surroundings. He started drifting around Leon's apartment curiously. He picked up and glanced at slim magazines, viewed Leon's various knick knacks, and then became enamoured with the large living room window that presented an extensive view of the glittering city below. As he viewed the lights traveling from one point to another, Leon walked over to him and drew the long sweeping curtains closed.

"This means… no windows, I'm sorry bud." Leon said. Hop looked slightly disappointed for a moment, but then saw his reflection in one of Leon's nearby trophies, and started making various silly faces at himself. Leon watched him, amused, and then went about the apartment while Hop was distracted and drew all the curtains closed in order to avoid any incidents.

Leon was, after all, still in the media's eye. Even after no longer bearing the title 'Champion', he's found various titles referring to him in both favourable and unfavourable ways. Some of them included rather bold statements such as: "Shocking Affairs committed by Galar's most beloved Trainer" and "25 Champion secrets kept by Champion Leon HIMSELF".

Normally, Leon would be able to handle the headlines from these sides of the public, it was just a part of being famous after all, but this (Leon looked over at the Phantump fiddling with the leaves on his forehead), This was on a whole different level. If they were going to be together, Leon knew that he had to protect Hop from all that, or else they'd never know peace again.

The remainder of the evening passed by slowly, but calmly. Hop took to watching Leon cook dinner as he used spatulas and spoons with ease and slight of hand. Hop attempted to help Leon by gleefully offering him whatever items he laid eyes upon, like whisks, towels, tongs, a measuring cup, a vegetable peeler, and Leon's favorite book that had been settled peacefully on the couch called "Lakewood", and Leon took the offered items and placed them in a neat pile on the counter beside him as he continued to cook.

"Thanks for the help buddy." Leon said with a chuckle. Hop cried joyfully.

After dinner, Leon made what he hoped to be a comfortable sleeping arrangement on the couch with blankets and pillows. He called Hop over and patted the setting encouragingly, but Hop only stared at him absently. Leon inhaled, looked at the couch with his hands on his hips and thought: _How exactly do you get what's essentially a flying baby to go to bed?_ As Hop started floating away towards a new distraction, a smile slipped onto Leon's face. He reached out and scooped up the floating Phantump, twirling him around and around in the air. "Phan!" Hop cried excitedly. Leon pretended to fall dramatically onto the couch and placed the distracted Hop into the covers, pulling the blankets, very large compared to him, up and over him.

"Bed time kiddo." Leon said, "I'll be in the other room if you need me, OK?" And as Hop watched him, rather bewildered, Leon got up from the couch and left the room. The pillows and blankets were very soft, and there were a lot of them. It made Hop feel like he was swimming in silk, so he twisted and turned under the blankets and pillows. The more excited Hop felt, the more his blankets and pillows started finding their way to the floor, which was cold and hard, and soon Hop lost interest in the bedding. 

_"Lee had gone into that other place…"_ Hop thought. He floated through the doorway, still open, expecting to find more exciting things, but the room was quiet and dark. The walls were adorned in trophies and plaques, books and pictures, it was all so numerous there was hardly a space of wall not covered. He found Leon laying in bed, not sleeping, but seemingly lost in thought until Hop floated by into his line of sight and gave a short, bit of a nervous, chirp.

"Hop." Leon said, pulling off his covers, "I thought you'd gone to bed."

Hop didn't answer him, he only stared absent-mindedly at Leon. His bright, almost otherworldly looking eyes started to make Leon feel uncomfortable in the dark. "Come on kiddo, it's bedtime!" Leon said again, as encouragingly as he could, but still Hop didn't answer him. Instead, the Phantump started eyeing the bed covers and, before Leon could stop him, Hop dived in under the blankets.

"Ah, Oi!" Leon exclaimed. He searched through the covers and got hold of him, lifting little bro upwards with both hands like you would a rowdy child.

"You have a spot to sleep in already!" Leon told him, "I know it's probably not the _best_ spot... but I'm working that, OK? It'll just have to do for now." Leon cared very much about having his own space. Internally, _"I will not budge on this, I will not budge!"_ repeated in his head, but as he attempted to resolute himself, Hop's face twisted into a despairing look. Hop hadn't understood _exactly_ what Leon had said, but he knew that he was being told off, and it upset him. He had only been doing what Leon told him to do!

In defiance, Hop wriggled free of Leon's grip, and again dived deep under the covers of the king sized bed. "Hey!" Leon shouted, and dived in after him. It was an interesting sight. Both brothers, making a mess of sheets and pillows; blankets were thrown, hair was made tousled and staticky. Eventually, Leon fell off of the bed and, after losing his balance in a desperate attempt to swipe at one of Hop's horns, hit the floor with a hard "UMF!". Hop laughed at him in an airy but condescending way.

Hop settled down into the bed and curled up into the blankets, feeling as though he'd won the game and so could no longer be removed. Leon stood up and shot the pushy Pokémon a nasty look, which then... _eventually_ softened, and he relented with a tired sigh.

 _"_ All _right,"_ Leon said begrudgingly, "but this isn't going to be an every night thing, I hope you know."

Leon crawled back into the bed and, leaving Hop plenty of room, laid down faced towards the wall. The day's events had exhausted him and he quickly fell into a dreamless sleep.

After some time, Hop cracked an eye open, staring thoughtfully at Leon's back. When the rise and fall of the man's chest had become even and slow, Hop inched closer to him and curled up against him. Hop, comforted by the man's warmth, fell into a peaceful sleep and dreamed on of kings and knights dancing wistfully to a familiar tune, and felt at ease for the first time in a very long while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I FINALLY got this one done hooo boy. This one killed me, what with the holidays and all, but I GOT IT DONE and I enjoyed writing it! Now the story really starts! How will Leon adjust to his new life with his ghostly little bro? Who knows? Stay tuned...


	4. The Golden Morning

The next day, Leon woke to “I can be your hero _baby,_ ” in the early hours of the morning.

Groggy and feeling very grumpy, Leon turned over towards the droning tune from the bedside table to his left, when his eardrums were suddenly assaulted by a high pitched _‘YIP’,_ and something alarmingly sharp jabbed into his back. Startled, Leon sprang up from the bed so theatrically that the blankets were ripped violently from the mattress and began coiling around Leon's failing legs and midsection. With a resounding _thud_ and a rather familiar "UMF" sound, Leon once again found himself falling hard into the bedroom floor.

Hop glided over to Leon's side of the bed, Leon looked up at him through the gaps of the bedding currently tangled in his arms and legs and saw that Hop had the _audacity_ to be looking absolutely insulted that Leon had rolled over on top him. To Leon, suddenly, Hop started looking a lot less like a cute little forest sprite and much more like a nasty little devil, and he started to feel his face heating up, like a stew brought to a boil.

"You rolled into _my_ space!" exclaimed Leon, gesturing towards the Pokémon, "Are you _trying_ to kill me with those horns?!" he asked aggressively. The Phantump froze, his face having transformed into a shocked expression.

Now normally, Leon was not one to shout or lose his temper. Ever. But seeing how it was still five in the morning, 'Hero' was still blaring on in the background, and the phantom of a stabbing was still throbbing on his skin, it wasn't all just because Leon wasn't much of a morning person.

Immediately afterwards however, when the panic subsided and Leon stopped huffing and puffing quite as hard, he remembered just exactly who he was shouting to. The aforementioned shouting receiver, already had tears welling up into his eyes and thus began a terrible whimpering sound that rose in volume by each passing second.

 _Oh God, oh fuck, what is wrong with me?_ Leon thought. 

"It's OK, it's OK!" Leon said urgently. He stood up and untangled himself from the blankets and glanced over towards the phone, still ringing, and then back over to the whimpering Phantump. He stepped forward towards the bedside and placed both hands on either side of Hop's face. As Hop began to cry, Leon touched the Phantump's forehead with his own. 

This was a tactic that Leon had employed back when Hop was still a toddler. His little bro was clingy back then and for some reason, being close to Leon brought an end to many of Hop's temper tantrums in those days. Leon wasn't sure if it was still going to work, all these years later but it was the only thing he could think of so 'in the moment'. He shushed Hop soothingly and pushed his face closer, after a few moments and to his own relief, Hop sniffled and managed to compose himself.

"There you go, what a big boy!" Leon said enthusiastically, and a little smile managed to slip onto Hop's face.

 _This is so weird_ . Leon thought briefly. He wasn't sure if he felt sad or oddly nostalgic right now, using tactics that were once only reserved for his precious baby brother ages ago, but there was at least one thing that Leon was feeling _certain_ of right about now, and it was the feeling of insurmountable irritation towards his DAMN PHONE. It was going off for the second time now, and Leon wondered just who in the _hell_ needed his attention this badly at five in the morning. As he picked it up and tapped on the screen, he was ready to angrily address the receiver, whomever they might be. Hop watched curiously as Leon brought the phone up to his ear.

 _'Hello?'_ He questioned snidely.

"Leon?" Answered his mother's voice.

… 

…

Oh.

"Mum! I-"

"Just who do you think you're talking to with _that_ _tone_ , young man?" shouted his mother.

"I uh-" Leon stammered. His mind groped for an excuse, any excuse, until… "Uuuuh Raihan!" he burst out, almost shouting.

_Yes, Raihan. Perfect._

"He's been pestering me all morning," Leon bluffed, "I thought you were him, hahaha…" 

He broke off awkwardly. His mother paused.

"Always check a number before answering your phone, Leon." said his mother.

"...Yes ma'am." He answered.

"Don't think you're out of the woods yet,” she told him. Leon’s eyebrows shot up, after all, even for his mother, he thought that this was all a little much so early in the morning. “I'm calling you because you promised that you’d give me a ring yesterday, and you never did."

Leon suppressed a groan as his grip on the phone went tighter. 

She was right, although she had _made him_ promise yesterday that he would call her at some point, he had still agreed to it. Waking up in the early hours of the morning and hurriedly claiming that he needed to call a cab somewhere, yet unwilling to reveal exactly where, might cause a mother to do that. The hectic morning created a bit of squabbling between his mum and his gran as well, one of whom said that it was only fair for Leon to tell his concerned family where he so desperately needed to go, while the other said that he was a grown man and didn't need to tell her if he didn't want to. In the end, his mum agreed not to press for anymore answers so long as he called her later in the day. 

And, well… 

Given everything that happened yesterday, and the emotional repercussions of it, the thought of _'Oh yeah, I promised mum I'd ring her up today!'_ had somewhat slipped his mind.

"I'm sorry mum. I'd meant to, I just forgot." He says, knowing that it's not a great excuse, but having nothing else in mind.

"You just forgot, did you?" She mirrored sarcastically, but then she paused, and Leon had a feeling that he knew what was coming. "You missed bbq night… you know." his mother said, her harsh tone beginning to give way into emotion. Leon felt a pit growing in his stomach, he tried to swallow it back.

"I know, I'm sorry.” he said, “I'll try to be there next time."

"'Try'? So you're not promising me?"

"Mum…"

They both went quiet. An uncomfortable sigh came from his mother's end.

"Leon… I know that it seems like I'm being hard on you, but I'm only being gobby because I _care_." She began, "I know that the past few years have been… hard… on you and-"

“Mum, I know. I know you worry!” Leon said, trying to feen positivity. He didn't really know _where_ he was trying to go by interrupting her, all he knew was that if she started crying right now, then _he_ might start crying. Last night was one thing, but the sight of his adult self blubbering over his phone at five in the morning with his mother, and in his pj's no less, wasn't exactly a sight that he felt comfortable with his little brother seeing.

"When I'm feeling ready, I know you will all be here for me. It's just… right now… I can't. I can't do it yet."

"Leon…" his mother said gently.

Both of them went quiet. Leon thought that he heard a muffled sniffle, but then his mother's voice returned.

"Alright sweetheart, I'll leave it for now, since you put it like that."

That was, of course, what she said every time they got talking about how Leon's been doing the past few years, but at least the threat of a rowe with his mother had gone.

"So, how did supper go-,

“Now, what exactly were you up to yesterday, anyway?”

“Ah!" Leon uttered, surprised, "Mum, I thought you'd said-"

"I'd said that I'd table the emotional talk, I never said anything about your disappearance yesterday being apart of that dropped topic. So? What is it that you're not telling me?" she demanded, Leon sighed.

Now here comes the sticky part. Leon had already thought over this million dollar question last night before he’d gone to sleep and he had already decided that he was against telling nearly everyone about Hop and this had included most of the people close to him. 

While he had counted all of his friends, like Raihan and Magnolia, it also included the Gym Leaders, Sonia, and his old mentor, Mustard; though the idea of asking his teacher for advice had been very tempting for him. He hadn't decided on this because he didn’t trust all these people to keep quiet, not necessarily. Although it was the reason with Sonia, for the others, the simple fact of the matter was that the less people who know about this right now, the better. Leon was still adjusting to the situation, and Hop, as a Pokémon, is still a pretty unknown entity. Leon can't tell by visual queues just how much Hop remembers about himself and others while he was living. As of right now, Leon knows that Hop has at least a vague memory of calling Leon, 'Lee', (His heart ached at the very thought of it, after all) but that was about it. Introducing him to people that he knew when he was human might overwhelm him, Leon thought. And he wasn't sure how those people would react in the first place, nothing against them, it was just that this wasn't exactly a simple situation. The whole thing could spiral out of control with just a single mistake and with the entire world watching, Leon didn't want to take the risk.

Note how Leon had decided on _nearly everyone,_ though. Family… that was different. One of the few people he had been considering telling was his mother, his grandparents, his father and...

And the current Champion.

The Champion however, was another question entirely and not the person on the other end of the phone right now.

"Leon?" his mother asked. She sounded frustrated with his hesitation, though a little concerned had edged into her tone. "Are you not planning on telling me?"

"I went to the Glimwood Tangle, mum." 

"Glimwood?" his mother asked, surprised, "My goodness Leon, are you alright?"

The question itself didn't shock him, though the sudden shift in his mother's tone felt unnecessary.

"Yes mum, I'm fine, I was careful." Leon said. 

Feeling big, insatiable eyes boring into him, he looked up at Hop. He must be able to hear the receiver because he was gazing at the phone, transfixed. Leon hoped that Hop's intrigue was just an acknowledgment of the noise coming from the device, and not some kind of indication that Hop was having a reaction to their mother's voice already, because if it was…

 _…It's too early for this._ Leon thought weakly.

"Why did you go there, dear?" His mother asked, sounding more gentle now. Hop was still staring, Leon backed away from his gaze and turned towards the wall to finish the conversation. Hop craned his head, trying to look over his shoulder, but otherwise left him be.

 _It's too soon,_ Leon thought, _and this isn't the right time._ He can always come forward if he changes his mind, but once they know there's no going back. 

This meant that, for now, he had to lie to his own mother. He didn't like it, but one way that Leon dodges a question that he doesn't want to answer is to tell half of the truth, and fill in the rough spots with little white lies. It didn't feel great, but it was better than fabricating a whole story.

"It was for a ghost Pokémon I've caught recently. I had some questions about it, so I went to the Stow-and-Side Gym Leader, Allister. He's an expert with them. Since I'm going back to the Battle Tower tomorrow- Er…well, today now, it couldn't wait." said Leon. 

For a moment, his mother said nothing. He couldn't see her, but he imagined that she probably looked puzzled. Though all of what he'd said was technically true, it wasn't exactly a great excuse.

"...That was all? Leon, Why didn't you just say that yesterday?"

Leon tried to think, then he attempted to sound unsure, as if what he was about to say was difficult to divulge. "...Because I knew that you would have gotten irritated." Leon replied, "You would have asked, ' _You're skiving off our barbecue for some trainer nonsense?,_ or something along those lines, right?"

"Leon," she snapped reprovingly, Leon felt himself straighten reflexively, "you had me worried over something like that? I understand that your battling career is important, we all understand that."

"...Sorry…" Leon said sheepishly, feeling his face turn a little red towards the wallpaper. He heard the door creak from behind, Leon looked back at the room and saw that Hop had gone. 

_"He must have gotten bored_." Leon thought.

"I just didn't want to ruin everyone's time, you know?" said Leon.

"You wouldn't have, Leon." his mother replied.

"I know, but-"

" _No_ , you wouldn't have." she repeated sternly, "We are always glad to have you home, luv, but we also know that you have a lot of other responsibilities as well."

His mother's words came at him unexpectedly. One minute she's chewing him out, and the next she's getting him all emotional, at five in the morning too. Leon felt like something cold and sharp had pierced into his chest. He had just lied to her, yet she responded by assuring him that he was not a burden and despite the love that his mother was instilling towards him, it stung Leon. He knew that he probably wouldn't be able remember this moment fondly in the future, not when it was brought on by a lie, such as this.

"Thanks mum," he told her, swallowing the lump in his throat, "that means a lot to me.”

“Just… no forgetting it next time, alright?” she said.

"Alright."

"Good. And come home again soon."

"I will."

"Good."

The conversation paused.

"Well, I'm gonna let you go." She said, "Go off, get some food in ya now."

"I'll have to do without your pancakes, mum." Leon said.

"Serves ya right."

Leon gasped, "Was… was that a pun? _Mother_?" he said, in mock shock.

His mother chuckled. "Love ya sweetie."

"I Love you too, mum."

"Ta." she said.

"Ta." he replied.

He hung up.

Leon found Hop floating silently at the far side of the living room. Leon was about to call out his name when he noticed that Hop was gazing at the long, frilly window curtains and making no note of Leon's presence whatsoever. The drapes were gently swaying, as the a.c. had kicked in, and Leon could spot glimpses of the brightening sky beyond them. Hop raised a stubby hand towards the curtain and grabbed a fistful of the soft, white fabric.

"Hop?" Leon said questioningly, breaking the silence.

At his sound of his voice Hop jumped up a little in surprise. Turning swiftly towards Leon, he replied, "Tump?"

Despite looking like he’d been caught in something, Hop continued to grasp onto the curtain with his tiny fingers and he didn't move. The breath in Leon’s lungs seemed to be held there as the silent question that his little brother’s amber eyes seemed to be asking him became apparent.

‘ _Can I go outside?’_ they implored hopefully.

Leon clapped his hands together with a boisterous _whap,_ and held them out enthusiastically towards the Pokémon, "Come on, Hop! Time for breakfast!” he exclaimed as joyfully as he could manage, “You do want to help me, don't you?" 

Hop’s eyes widened at Leon’s sudden change of tone but once Hop had recovered, an excited smile arose again onto his face, "Phan!" he cried. He let the drapes go, allowing them to fall back to their original length that brushed the carpet floor and flitted over to Leon's outstretched arms.

Their morning went on oddly normally, as if Leon frequently had ghostly companions in the early hours of the day. For their breakfast Leon whipped up some bacon, some eggs, and a potato scone each. For himself, he poured a glass of milk and for Hop, a small portion of peacha juice. They sat down (or in Hop’s case floated down) and ate their meal earnestly. 

As they near finished, Hop held up his own potato scone to which he had saved for last and gazed at it with an awestruck expression. The tattie was over half the size of his own head and although Hop looked at it hungrily, he seemed to also be slightly intimidated by it. He drew himself up to his full height of one foot, two inches however, and took a great chuck out of the scone, screwing his eyes shut and munching on it with great resolution.

"P… umf… tumpf!!" He mumbled happily, and Leon tried to suppress a snicker.

As Hop attempted to conquer his potato scone, Leon put together some sandwiches and cut them all into squares of four. Afterwards, he put them in a couple of plastic containers and set them atop the countertop table. Some of the affections were simply peanut butter and jam sandwiches but a few others were made of various meats and minimal dressing since Leon remembered that Hop used to enjoy meat a good deal. He wasn't sure if his tastes had changed since his becoming a Phantump but as Hop had drank his pecha juice with no complaints, Leon had no reason to doubt that they were the same, if not similar. 

Afterwards, Leon started getting ready to go out. Getting into his red tail coat, dress pants, and black leather boots took a considerable amount of time every morning, so Leon always tried to leave time for it despite disliking getting up in the early hours. 

He looked himself over in the incredibly, large mirrored wall that reflected his double, standing just as he did in it's own dressing room. He looked a little different today, Leon thought. Neatly dressed as though the man was, he looked tired, even if only slightly. Leon dismissed the image and continued fussing over his clothing anxiously. 

When he finally felt that he looked smart enough, Leon pulled a slender, black coat over himself for the brisk weather and grabbed the pocket watch from inside it's outermost pocket. It showed 7:43am. 

Technically, Leon didn't need to be at the battle tower for another hour or so but since he had been away for a few days he thought that it'd be good practice to make sure that all of his trainers felt ready for challengers before the tower doors were opened. He slipped the watch back into his coat.

Stepping out into the living room once again, he saw that Hop had managed to finish his breakfast and although his plates and glass remained emptied on the countertop, Hop didn't seem to be nearby. Leon was about to call his name when a soft, high pitched snore brought his attention to a tiny little bundle which lay resting on the nearby couch. There, Hop was curled up, napping peacefully. Leon noticed that he was holding a few things as well; in his left hand he was clutching his old rusted sword, in his right, a circular black mound. The familiar yellow pattern sewn into the visor of the black mound was half, covered by Hop's tiny body, but Leon still recognized it almost immediately. Hop was on top of, not only _any_ hat, but on Leon's _best_ hat, snoozing peacefully.

Leon stooped down, level with the sleeping creature, "Eating a large breakfast tired you out? Goodness Hop…" he said gently. He rose his hand towards Hop to pet his leafy head but suddenly he stopped and he drew back.

 _"Then again, if I wake him I might never be able to get away…"_ Leon thought, uneasiness creeping. However, the idea of simply leaving him here without even saying goodbye just felt… well it felt too cruel, really. Even if it was just for the day.

But before Leon could continue to consider the wisdom of waking Hop, the Pokémon stirred unexpectedly. Lazily, Hop raised his head and opened his eyes, looking dimly at Leon with a distracted, sleepy gaze that suggested that he might of been dreaming of something far, far away. After a few moments however, Hop's eyes focused and a sleepy but genuine grin stretched up upon his face. 

Leon inhaled suddenly and audibly at the sight, although he tried not to let his alarm show on his own face…

Hop's smile was slightly different than the other expressions that Leon had seen thus far from him. This smirk was more… toothy, it was a sort of mischievous look and Leon wasn't sure how to feel about it, nor could he figure exactly why such a simple expression was making him feel so uneasy. 

Nonetheless, Leon beamed back with a smirk of his own, as not to upset his younger brother like he had already done this morning.

"I gotta go buddy, I'm leaving food out for you." Leon said, "I can't trust you to use the electronics so… I'm just going to leave you out some sandwiches, OK?"

Hop continued smiling at him, now rather blankly. Leon hesitated but pressed forward after a few moments of no response. "Don't go eating them all at once, now! It's gotta last you the whole day!" Leon told him.

Hop's gaze lingered. Then, looking away from Leon, he looked over to the old, rugged weapon that he fancied for whatever reason and sat down, looking over the faded inscriptions idily.

Leon had already felt concerned about leaving Hop all by himself while he was at work but Hop's continued inattentiveness was putting substantially more stress on Leon's self-conscious. Could he really leave Hop alone like this? He was going to be gone for hours. At the very least, he may not be back till seven and that's _if_ there are no trainers still battling when the tower is meant to close.

 _"He's like a toddler, it's not safe."_ said a stern voice in Leon's head.

"Yeah… alright." Leon muttered to himself.

Hop looked up at him, a sweet smile still spread across his face, his curiosity palpable.

Leon pulled out a pokéball and Hop looked at him excitedly. Leon pulled his arm back and threw the ball, not in Hop's direction, but towards a clear spot in the room where out of the ball burst out Leon's great big Charizard, which emitted a pleasurable growl as a way of saying, "Good morning."

Hop looked at the Pokémon in amazement. Despite having seen the creature just yesterday, he flew up to Charizard happily and darted around the dragon, taking in his powerful features.

When Leon called, "Hop" though, Hop turned and went back to his brother.

"You have to stay home today, kiddo." Leon said, taking a knee as to be eye level with him, "Charizard's going to look after you, you do as he says and behave, OK?" Leon patted his head, Hop smiled more brightly than ever and cried out in affirmation to whatever it was Leon had said or wanted him to do. Leon turned to Charizard, who was giving his trainer a rather inquisitive look. It was the same face that Leon had received in times that he insisted that he knew where he was going and did not need assistance. Leon brought his hands to either side of Charizard's long snout and lowered his head.

"I know what you're thinking, big guy… but you have got to stay here with him. Out of everyone, I'd feel most reassured if it's you." Leon said.

Charizard scoffed hotly, his hot breath coupled with his critical expression made Leon smile fondly. "I'll be fine for just one day." Leon told him. "Promise." But when that still didn't seem to dissuade his partner's position, Leon's smile faded.

"...It's Hop, please Charizard." he said quietly.

Charizard's eyes turned more serious, almost making the Pokémon's face look steely. For Leon to plead in such a way, Charizard knew that it wasn't something that Leon would be willing to budge on. He looked past Leon towards the curious Phantump and then back at his somewhat mess of a trainer. Charizard cared about Hop just as much as Leon did, of this Leon was certain. After a few moments of silence, Charizard nodded his head. The smile Leon returned was weary but grateful.

"I'm leaving him in your care then." He said more loudly.

Leon started telling Charizard instructions like he'd regaled them a hundred times, "Don't let him touch the electronics," and "Make sure that he doesn't eat too much." 

He said all these things while pulling his trenchcoat around him more securely and grabbing his keys off the countertop. Charizard growled in understanding at Leon's commands and suggestions and Leon, feeling reassured, reached for his hat which had always been placed upon his hat rack by the front door, only to remember then that it was no longer there.

"Phan!" cried Hop, flying up to Leon with his hat in hand. "Aw, thanks buddy!" Leon exclaimed, but when Leon reached out to take the hat, Hop pulled away, shooting Leon a reproachful look.

"Tump!" Hop exclaimed. And with a prideful, sweeping motion, Hop placed the hat up top of his own head and held it up high, like a king having been bequeathed a crown.

"Uuuuh-" Leon began, but Hop ignored him. Floating past Leon, Hop moved swiftly towards the front door and looked back at his brother, an expectant and jubilant expression clear as day on his face as he swayed briskly. 

Hop thought that he was coming along with Leon.

"Hop, no. You have to stay here." Leon said gently but firmly. "Charizard's going to look after you and I'll be back later tonight."

Hop didn't seem to understand. He tilted his head in a quizzical way, like Leon were speaking in tongues. Leon put his hands around Hop's sleek black body and carried him over to his Charizard, placing him down into the dragon's outstretched claws. During which, Hop made little protest since he was being held, a smile still present on his sweet little face. When Leon took the hat from Hop's head however, the Phantump made a loud and terrible screeching noise, clearly protesting indignantly. No doubt, the creature's ghastly reaction was about to turn into a tantrum, one of which that the entire building was about to be made aware of. As Hop's face contorted in fury, Leon pressed the golden watch from his pocket into Hop's tiny little hands. He cupped them with his own, holding them. 

Hop stopped screaming. He looked confused. 

When Leon removed his hands to show Hop the golden watch now in his possession, Hop's eyes turned bright and fascinated with its grandeur. Leon reached down and pressed a small button on the lowest point of the watch and the mechanisms' front cover sprang open. It read 7:57. Hop gawked at the jerky movements of the watch's hands. Leon kneeled down to Hop's level and pointed to a place on the face of the watch that was opposite to the side on which the hour hand was currently positioned.

"When this little bar manages to get all the way over here, Hop, that's when I'll be able to come home." said Leon. He backed away, still on his knees and eye level with his little brother. He waited for his response but Hop made no noise. He looked at the watch and then back at Leon several times. The Pokémon didn't look particularly happy now, more of a tired and bemused expression had replaced his two previous extremes, but at least he had stopped screaming.

"I know it's hard, I'm sorry," Leon said, "but I need you to muddle through this, I'll be super proud of you if you do. Plus, you can do it, can't you? You can wait here until I come back, right? Hop?"

Hop wasn't looking at Leon, instead he was staring at the golden pocket watch. He no longer looked enamoured by it, and actually formed a childish pout as he placed one hand on the evening's side of the watch.

"Tumf…" Hop mumbled faintly.

Leon waited, to see if there was more he wished to say, but Hop only continued fiddling with the watch. Leon stood up. 

It wasn't a solid answer, but in spite of Hop's none so cheerful feelings at the moment, Leon actually felt almost elated. Even if Hop was a little upset, it was a direct reaction to something Leon had _meant_ to convey to him. For the first time since he'd found him, Leon felt like he had _really_ communicated with his brother.

 _"It won't be the last."_ Leon thought wistfully.

"Then, I'm off." said Leon, flipping his hat onto his plume of violet hair. He walked over to the front door and pulled it open. Turning back around, he saw Hop sit up from his slumped position in Charizard's palms, watching him keenly. 

"Behave, OK Hop?" Leon asked again. He looked up at Charizard and gave his partner a reaffirming nod, to which the Pokémon returned.

"Tump…" Hop murmured as farewell. He held tightly onto the pocket watch with one hand and waved goodbye with the other. With one last smile at the pair of them, Leon stepped out into the hallway and closed the door behind him. As he walked towards the elevators, Leon was brimming with all the confidence in the world that everything was going turn out _fine_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sure Leon, sure.
> 
> PhantHop continues! Will Hop behave himself in Leon's absence? Can Charizard survive the boisterous energy of a ghostly five year old child? 
> 
> Will Leon make it to the tower in one piece or will he mistakingly wander into Unova region never to be seen again?!
> 
> Only time will tell, stay tuned...


	5. Marigolds and Biscuits

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The reason why this chapter took me so long was because I had to type out the words "snap back turban" and it took me many months to recover.
> 
> Here's a PhantHop playlist that me and Rosel put together!  
> https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5XzGvWBSiyZUZJmwBlZroAnVWUZ0Ds4o

Piers allowed the door to slam shut of its own accord. The uneven foundation of his warehouse home seemed to come in handy on nights like this when he barely had energy to make it inside, though having the doors swing independently on their hinges _did_ tend to scare off guests. He placed his guitar case down and stretched, his joints popped like firecracker.

"Oh my _lord_ babe, you still alive over there?" Came a casual voice.

"Debatable." Piers answered the voice. 

Across from Piers lay an immensely smug giant of a man. Standing at 6 foot 8 inches, he was already intimidating to most, absolutely terrifying towards his enemies. At times, he had a look in his eyes that led some to believe that his passion actually bordered on insanity. 

Piers used to believe that for some time himself, but now he knew better; the kind of person this man was… was a complete dork.

His name was Raihan.

First of all, he was the Gym leader of Spikemuth’s neighboring city, Hammerlocke. Widely known for being incredibly powerful, and thus considered by many to be the most daunting roadblock in one’s efforts to reach the champion, most wouldn’t be so collected after discovering the man chilling on their living room couch. 

“How did you get in here?” Piers asked.

“I snuck in through the window– WAIT NO, PUT THE POKEBALL DOWN, I’m joking, joking! Haha... Marnie let me in. You texted me that you’d be getting back today, you know? So, I decided to surprise you.”

“It’s 8am. And I never told you what time I’d be back.” Piers said.

“Yeah, little carking if you ask me.”

“So? Were you gonna wait around here all _day_?”

“Yep.”

“...”

It”s probably also notable that Raihan was Piers’s boyfriend. Now, how did _that_ happen?

…

Well, Piers himself preferred not to think about it when he was still trying to have a _good_ day. It was seriously embarrassing… 

Rainhan flashed a devilish grin.

“That’s pretty smarmy, mate. Creep.” Piers told him with a disgusted expression. Raihan sputtered indiginitly. 

“Me?! What do ya mean, 'smarmy'?! It's romantic!” Raihan declared, “You should be swooning! Falling at my feet! Saying rubbish like: 'Oh Rai, you’re so thoughtful! To sacrifice your entire day… to put up in this sleazy _town_ to order to await my return, it just _proves_ to me your undying love!!'"

“You were just bored or horny, Rai.” Piers replied, “Knowing you, probably both.”

“You say that like it's all to cock.” Raihan said, droppin all previous swooning pretenses.

Piers put a hand to his forehead. He knew it would only encourage Raihan, but a small smile had snuck itself onto Piers’s face. “Scoot over, you colossus. I’m exhausted.” 

Their mornings were often like this, though today, Piers put off the usual telling Raihan about songwriting, having exhausted the topic all tour, and instead told him about how the tour itself had gone.

"And then, this nutter grabs me by my shoe, like, the fact that you got clocked in the face- that wasn't _my_ fault, _you_ shouldn't be grabbing onto people without their permission!" Piers said, gesturing an offended finger towards the ceiling in accusation. "Anyway, now she's trying to sue me for medical costs."

"Oh damn," Raihan said with a slightly nervous chuckle, "I know you wear high heels and all babe, but did you really hurt her that bad?"

"Oh no, it wasn't for her face." Piers corrected, "She said that she needed to see a therapist now, cause her favorite artist kicked her in the face."

"Ah. Huh… little odd."

"Odd? What do you mean?"

"Well, if she really _were_ a big fan of yours, then she should have thanked you for kicking her in the face. Sounds like a good time."

"...I don't think your standards apply to normal people, Rai."

"You’re attracting normal people at these concerts? Should I be concerned?"

“Troll.” Piers remarked, flicking Raihan’s turban snapback. 

"But you love me." Said Raihan airily.

"Debatable."

Raihan leaned in closer, a smirk was forming on his features and the mischievous look in his eyes were now magnified by his closeness. "I know that you love me."

Piers's gaze narrowed, one brow raised at these words. For a moment, Raihan wasn't sure if he had somehow offended Piers, as the man remained defiantly silent. When Piers's face started to turn red Raihan thought that he was going to look away, but his hand instead shot out from where it had been resting over the edge of the couch. Raihan jumped slightly as Piers grabbed Raihan by his shirt collar and forcefully pulled their faces closer together.

 _"I never know what to expect from you, you know."_ Was what Raihan was _going_ to say, but his words seemed to be swallowed up. 

As Piers's steely eyes looked into his, Raihan thought that he was gazing into him, comprehending him, maybe even seeing beyond him… somehow.

But a buzz interrupted the moment. Just then, Raihan's Rotom phone slipped out of his jacket pocket and it hovered in front of their bemused faces.

"What is it, Rotom? My notifications are off." Said Raihan.

"It's Mr. Leon, Raihan!" Buzzed the Pokémon, "He’s left you a message from Bulba Flowers!"

“Bulba Flowers?” Asked Piers.

"Bring it up." 

The screen of the Rotom phone changed from the face of the Pokémon to the saved messages screen. The Rotom's swaying lessened as Piers propped himself up to view the screen and Raihan leaned in closer as Leon’s voice came out of the receiver.

“Hey Raihan, it's me. Sorry for calling you out of the blue, but could you do me a favor? I’ve got a little lost in Wyndon. If you could call me back and tell me the CorviCab number, I’d really appreciate it. I usually have Charizard fly me wherever I need to go, so I never memorized it, and the shop owner here doesn't know it either. I’ll be here for a bit, so just whenever you’ve got a few. Thanks!.”

_Beep!_

“Corvi-Cab?” Piers said as the phone had gone silent. “Can’t he just look up the number?”

Raihan stared at his Rotom screen, he looked a little confused himself. “Leon’s got a really old phone, bad reception, I don’t even think that he can use the internet with it…”

“...Rai?” Piers asked, looking into his face. “Something wrong?”

“Well no, but… I’ve never seen Leon without his Charizard, not once. I hope he’s ok.

“Call Leon back, you can ask him.” Piers suggested.

“Yeah, alright. Rotom could you…?”

“Ye _zzzzer,_ I can!” Said the Rotom.

  
  


The couple walked in purposefully.

"Alex, catch the door." Said the man, the first to enter. 

The second, a young woman, stretched her hand out behind her and caught the door as it began to swing closed. Then, slowly removing it, she allowed the door to shut almost silently. They both stepped forward, looking around the small plant shop with both of their hands in their pockets.

"Why, hello there, you two." Said the friendly old shopkeep from behind his wooden desk, "How can I help you today?"

Leon turned from the phone on the wall, craning his neck slightly to get a good view of the newcomers, then frowning as he surveyed the two.

The issue that Leon had had upon first spying them wasn't their torn clothes or somewhat grubby faces, it was their suspicious behavior. The couple said nothing to answer the old man. The one closest to the door shifted nervously from one foot to the other, still clearly scanning the shop for any other people present. The other was looking the old man up and down, his gaze lingering on an aged and battered up pokéball sticking out of the shopkeeper's apron pocket.

Leon's hand reached towards his own pocket. Positioned near the wall behind some bright red marigolds, the two newcomers hadn’t seen or noticed him yet, until…

_Brrriiing!!_

The antique phone's sonorous bell broke the silence shamelessly. The couple jumped up aboundingly. In fact, if the ceiling had been any lower, Leon thought that she might've collided with it in shock.

"Who's there?!" Croaked the stoic man.

Leon said nothing, but he stepped out from behind the marigolds. His own hands were also buried deep within his pockets.

The ringing phone went on, but neither Leon nor the two strangers moved or made any kind of acknowledgement of the sound. The man and Leon stared at one another, sizing one other up. The woman looked nervous, possibly regretful, her eyes shifted from Leon to her cohort. Leon felt a stab of pity for her, but he didn't take his eyes away from the man's face. The man’s eyes held a kind of coldness that made the hairs on the back of Leon's neck stand up, and then, a harsh smile slid onto his face as recognition flashed through his features.

"Well well well now, what do we have here?" Said the man sardonically.

"Jack-" Whispered the woman, sounding terrified.

"You know," Leon interjected, "The shopkeeper asked what you two needed. You should tell him, you know? I'm sure that we're all very busy today." 

The ringing stopped.

"Well, why do _you_ think we're here, old champ?" Asked the man. Leon straightened.

"I believe that I can come up with some guesses," Said Leon coolily, "but I'd rather that you just leave in those cases. As you've clearly already realized, I'm no ordinary customer."

"Yer' not?" Said the man, his voice becoming more powerful. "Last I'd checked, you were just the same as the rest of us other sods now, _Mr. Leon_. Or have you become king of the world again without our knowin'?"

Leon's eyes narrowed, a small sneer coming onto his face. "I may not be Champion anymore, but surely you know that I'm still very far from retired, right? Or have you never had the courage to go near the Battle Tower?"

"'Battle Tower'? Whaz that?" Said the man, "Some kind of rich man's cockpit? If that’s so mate, then that don't mean much to a man like me. I grew up on the streets, fightin to survive. It's cause of that that I'm standin right here in front of ya. If you're smart, then you'll get outta my way. Better yet, you should probably just leave. Any poor sod that's out here losing to children ain't got no place threatening me." And the man spat on the floor at Leon's feet. The woman beside him flinched.

Leon did not move. He stood resolutely, face now settling into a cold glare. The hand wrapped around the pokéball in his pocket seemed to twitch involuntarily.

As much as he hated to admit it, bringing out his Pokémon in this situation… had to be a last resort. A full on battle involving his Pokémon, whether the man had the team to back this confidence of his or not, would be incredibly dangerous in such a closed space. The ceiling might collapse and hurt someone, the windows might shatter into what would practically be deadly little knives. What's more, the old shopkeeper beside him, (who now seemed completely stunned into silence by the situation) would probably more prefer to have his cash drawer pilfered than to have his shop destroyed.

 _'Maybe I should just step aside…'_ Thought Leon.

Then, an old memory resurfaced in his mind's eye.

It was vague and hazy, but he remembered… it was that day when Eternatus had practically knocked him out cold and then… then _he_ was standing in front of his fallen body, protecting him, shielding him…

 **_'Weak.'_ ** Hissed an eerily familiar voice.

Leon felt something snap inside him, he made to rush forward, planting his right foot hard against the protesting oak wood floor. He had his fist drawn down by his side, balled up and firm. Leon started imagining just how close he was going to get to the grinning man before beginning his swing, when-

_WHAM!!!!_

Before Leon could throw his fist any closer to the man's horrible, sneering face, the man's own hand had zoomed towards Leon's left temple and impacted with a sickeningly dull _thud!_. Leon felt an explosive pain racing from the point of impact to every other corner of his body and then, he felt just the cold dusty floor, his vision blurry and surrounding voices incomprehensible.

_"-eon…"_ Came a distant voice. It was faint, echoing within the haze in Leon's mind. He was aware that there was someone beside him. He could see the floor expanding towards the bright windows, he could see the distant colors and shapes for the potted flowers, but he couldn't fully comprehend what he was seeing.

"Leon…" Came the voice again, but clearer this time. The fog was starting to dissipate, Leon became aware of his limbs and positioning, he was able to move.

"Leon! Ya lahwi… are you alright?" Said the voice. This time, Leon understood.

"...Raihan?" Leon said groggily. He pushed himself upwards, sitting himself down on the floor. The fog was gone now. Raihan was knelt in front of him, looking uncertain and worried.

"You alright, mate?" Raihan asked again.

"I- no, where did that fuck did that prat just go?" Leon demanded angrily, whipping his head around for the offender in question, then putting a hand to his throbbing head.

"You mean the bloke what hit you? He's gone mate, made off around 20 minutes ago from the sounds of it." Said Raihan, "That poor old guy's told me what happened. He's phoning the cops now, took him long enough. Shock I guess. Bugger made off with some money from the shopkeep, but that's not what's important, do you need to go to the hospital, Leon?"

"No." Leon replied firmly, not quite looking at Raihan. "Why are you here?" he asked rudely.

Raihan's brows raised slightly, he looked somewhat offended, but he replied, "I was worried about you. I tried calling you back, but you never picked up. First you're without your Charizard, and then you're suddenly unreachable? Of course I'd eventually come to check up on you _in_ person."

"I-" Leon began, but then he trailed off, feeling slightly ashamed. "Sorry."

"It's fine." Said Raihan. He stood up, then extended his hand down towards Leon. "Here, can you stand?"

The next hour was mostly a blur to Leon. After he was examined and patched up, he and the old shopkeeper recontonted the scene's events to the police, who had appeared in somewhat excessive numbers after Leon's name had come up into the picture. Leon felt frustration as he lived once again through the humiliation of being nearly knocked out cold in a flower shop, but he described everything that he could recollect. The slight hope that the bastard would eventually get his somehow helped numb his bubbling irritation. The time was already 9:50 am by the time he had finished.

When he was finally told that he was free to go, he spotted the great green beast towering over the conglomeration of white and black uniforms and moved towards it. Raihan waved at him from beside the Pokémon. He also somewhat towered over the surrounding officers.

Raihan gave Leon a dramatic bow, like a doorman. 

“Your carriage, your majesty.” He said with a sarcastic air, gesturing towards his Flygon.

“I appreciate it, Raihan.” Leon said, giving the man a tired but slightly indulgent smile. “You know, you got here awful fast.”

“I was only in Spikemuth." Said Raihan, "Just slightly closer, but it helped some."

“Is Piers back already?” Leon asked. 

“Yes.” Raihan replied, with a very self-satisfied smile.

Leon had his arms wrapped around Raihan’s waist as the three of them flew across the clear sky towards the Battle Tower, the building elevated over the rest of the city. The familiar sight of the tower was something that Leon was very used to. Though he wasn’t used to being on the back of something that wasn’t his Charizard, the familiar sight made Leon start to feel a little better, managing to push the events of the morning slightly out of his mind.

Flygon landed onto the tower balcony thunderously, Raihan leaned forward to allow Leon to slide off and Leon patted the Flygon’s horns fondly. The Pokémon, if able to blush, would likely have turned scarlet with the sheepish smile that it returned to Leon.

“I really owe you one for this, Raihan, you too Flygon!” He told them cheerily. “I’ll figure a way to make it up to you, yeah?”

However, when Leon turned away from the Pokémon to look at Raihan’s face, far from seeing a smile there, his friend was frowning down at him, looking perplexed. “Why _don’t_ you have your Charizard with you?” Raihan asked.

Leon's eyebrows raised, he had been expecting the question, but he didn't expect Raihan to ask it so seriously.

“Why?” Leon asked him.

"Well, I was already wondering before.” He said, “I thought that it was odd that you were traveling without him, but battling? Leon, you never battle without Charizard. What's up?"

Leon gave Raihan a curious smile, “He’s just doing an errand for me, that’s all.”

Raihan raised an eyebrow, like he was asking again with his eyes. Leon tried to do some quick thinking, he needed to change the subject. An angle occurred to Leon and, with a slightly guilty conscience, he tried to look annoyed.

"Charizard isn't my only powerful Pokémon, you know.” He said scathingly, “My whole team is worthy of praise."

Raihan started, "That's not what I-" but then he stopped mid-sentence as Leon turned away from him, sweeping towards the balcony doors that led inside.

Leon knew that Raihan hadn't meant what Leon himself had insinuated, but feigning offense would, at least, allow Leon to avoid Raihan.

 _'Both physically and conversationally.’_ Leon thought as he felt Raihan's eyes still on him as he approached the tower doors.

“Wait, Leon.” Raihan called after him.

“Hmm?" Leon hummed nonchalantly, eyes downcast on the handle now mid-turn.

“Hang on, I’m coming too.”

“‘Too’?”

“Yeah, don’t lock the door.”

Leon turned fully around to face him. “Are you saying that you wanna stay here all day or something?”

“Yeah, I won't be bored or anything, pretty major battles happen here and all, sounds exciting!” Raihan said, smiling again. He was looking at Leon expectantly, who in turn was eyeing him suspiciously. “You won't say no, right?" Raihan went on, "You just said that you were gonna owe me a favor. Well, I’m using that favor now.”

Leon continued to survey Raihan doubtfully. The word, _'Why?'_ , played on in Leon's head, but he kept it at bay. It wasn’t like he wanted to row with Raihan. "What about Piers?"

"It's fine, I'll text him, he'll understand."

_'I'm going to tell him that I'm concerned about you. He'll understand.'_

"Alright, but if you end up wanting a battle, it'll have to wait until the tower closes."

"Yes sir." Said Raihan with a mock salute.

"Mr. Leon! Mr. Leon!" Called out a flustered receptionist from inside, Leon turned. She was running out of the elevator while balancing piles of papers between her arms that, no doubt, bore the registrations of the tower’s trainers who hopefully sought to reach him that day. She caught sight of his bandaged head and dropped a few leaflets.

Leon suddenly flashed Raihan a confidant grin and flexed both of his wrists. 

"Alright, showtime then." He told him.

And he pushed open the balcony doors.

  
  


The day began with a sulky teen who possessed a full team topped with an incredibly aggressive Blazikin. The Blazikin in question was strong and determined to win, Leon found it quite admirable, but it didn't take long into the battle for Leon to notice just how little control the young trainer had over his own ace. He lost and Leon recommended that he dedicate some time to connect more with his team before challenging him again. The boy only took out two of Leon's six man team. He wasn't too concerned.

The next challenger was a middle aged man who possessed a lavish mustache. A cunning man, Leon thought, the gentleman had clearly studied Leon's usual team make-up extensively in hopes of using his own type advantages to his… well, advantage, and thus secure victory. However, Leon had seen such tactics many times before. He knew to cover for his vulnerabilities by utilizing moves that covered each of his own Pokémon's most commonly exploited weaknesses, while allowing Aegislash's powerful defensive abilities to take the main brunt of the man's assault. This gentleman took out three of Leon's Pokémon, but his 4th, his Mr. Rime, held on well.

The next contender was a young woman with fashion statements that could have possibly put the past version Leon himself to shame. She seemed quite surprised to see Raihan sitting nearby. At an outdoor table and chair, which had been brought up by various attendants, he and Leon were simply having lunch together. Though she kept shooting furtive looks in Raihan's direction, she seemed too rattled by nerves to ask for an autograph.

"Shall we begin?" Leon asked the woman.

Her team was well balanced and powerful, Leon started to feel a little anxious when his Dragapult had only just barely survived long enough to finish off her bulky Magnaton, but they _still_ managed to secure a victory. The woman left looking slightly put out but surprisingly determined. Leon had a feeling that she'd be back sometime soon. Though they took no damage, that time, Leon had been driven to his last Pokémon.

"I've replaced Charizard for today," Leon said to Raihan, pulling out the Pokémon's capture ball from his pocket. "I'm using Seismitoad instead, but it really just isn't the same…"

"You looked a little frustrated there.", Incurred Raihan, inclining his head at Leon as Leon took his place at the table and resumed his drink while helping himself to few more biscuits than he normally would have. "I haven't seen you look like that in a long time."

Leon couldn't help but notice that Raihan was giving him a slight, "I told you so." sort of look, but in a way that he didn't seem to want to prod in too deeply.

"Alright, so maybe you were right when you said that I rely on Charizard a little too much." Leon admitted.

"You can't honestly have _just_ realised that though, could you? He's been your best mate for years, Leon."

"Well, I knew that I might have trouble, but-"

"Leon, I gotta say, how can you be alright with battling without him?" Pressed on Raihan, irritatingly. "These people have no doubt worked hard for the chance to face you, yet you're not fighting them at your full strength."

"Hey, don't try and guilt me, alright? I had my reasons." Leon said curtly.

Raihan paused, then saying more quietly, "I'm just saying… I mean, it's not like you. If it were me, I'd feel… underestimated."

Leon said nothing to this, which seemed to spur Raihan further one last time.

"Plus, I had to pick you up because Charizard is so busy with this errand that he couldn't fly you. Don't you think I deserve to know what he's so busy with? I mean, what if it happens again?"

Leon made to reply, something like, _"It won't happen again because it's only a temporary job",_ or _"I'll just take a Corvi-cab next time."_ , but then he stopped, his brows furrowed. Raihan had just brought up a good point, a point that Leon himself hadn't even really thought of. How _was_ he going to have Hop cared for in the long term? He couldn't charge Charizard to watch Hop every single day he left home. Not only would it constantly leave Leon without his ace and best friend, but it also wouldn't be very fair for Charizard either. ‘ _To be strictly regulated to house keeper like that,’_ Leon thought. ‘ _I can’t do that to him.’_

"Leon? Earth to Leon?" Raihan said impatiently, but Leon was no longer listening.

‘ _Maybe I need another Pokémon to do it, someone new?’_ An old thrill ran through him as he envisioned it, and he absentmindedly crossed his arms, looking up towards the distant ceiling. _‘After all, the others might not be up for it.’_

He had pulled the laptop on the table closer to himself now and was searching for Pokémon that excelled in care taking. Soon, Leon started to come across articles written by mothers who possessed busy schedules and young children. Many of them seem satisfied with a very specific type of Pokémon.

_'A Blissy? An Audino? I've never had Pokemon like this before… Audino are found in the Tundra…'_

"Sir!" Shouted a worried voice.

"Hang on, Alex, I'm busy. When will the next trai-" began Leon distractedly, but the man cut across him, seeming absolutely beside himself.

"No! Sir!" Exclaimed the man, "It's your apartment! The tele, just now it…"

Leon stood up quickly, the chair behind him clattered to the floor. His attention was now fully on the man before him, his expression utterly dumbstruck. When the man didn't go on, and Leon seemed to be either waiting for him to continue or simply too surprised to speak, Raihan gestured at the receptionist wildly.

"Well?! What is it man? Speak!"

The receptionist jumped slightly, but continued. "It's your apartment, sir! They said- it just- they said it's just been set on _fire!"_

And from the moment that the word ‘ _fire’,_ had reached his ears, Leon knew only that his legs were moving. He was moving away from the man, he was striding towards the balcony, Raihan behind him. Both of them were soon running, and then, they were _flying._

In the air, Leon started to feel himself come out of the haze, only long enough to start asking himself questions.

 _‘His home was on fire? How? Where had it started, was it coming from his unit? How did it start?’_ _How long had it been burning?"_

_‘Was Hop still in there? Was Charizard?’_

Leon’s grip around Raihan’s waist tightened.

It wasn't long until they were flying towards, what Leon saw now, to be a growing mass of black smoke. It was beginning to ascend slowly into what was once a clear blue sky. Even from their still decreasing distance, Leon thought that he could already hear the sharp crackling of the flames that were consuming the middlemost floor. The white curtains within were blackening, and even in the brief moments that Leon watched them from afar, they disappeared and became ash.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Art by PhantHop Co Creater: Roseltheteacup  
> https://roseltheteacup.newgrounds.com/
> 
> Thank you all for being so patient with chapter updates! 2020 has been an especially difficult year, what with the pandemic still taking many lives in my country and the state of our government becoming increasingly questionable as the days go by. One thing that helps keep my spirits up is seeing that so many people still enjoy reading PhantHop, even though there has been such a long hiatus between chapters 4 and 5. I hope that you all manage to stay well and healthy in these difficult times. Please take care of yourselves and please remain mindful of others! I also hope that you guys enjoy the chapters well to come!
> 
> How DID the fire start?  
> Next time... Hop’s side of the story...
> 
> “Counter Clockwise”


End file.
